


Brothers

by robinasnyder



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Basically Techie's Dredd backstory, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Matt is Kylo Ren's clone, Minor Hux/Kylo Ren, Past Torture, Techie is Hux's brother, references to slavery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-22
Updated: 2016-10-18
Packaged: 2018-08-16 18:51:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8113567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/robinasnyder/pseuds/robinasnyder
Summary: Armitage Hux brings his brother, Techie aboard the Finalizer for his safety. Techie wants to be able to talk to people without being so afraid. Matt wants to be able to stay on the ship. More importantly, he just wants Kylo Ren to notice him. When Matt and Techie meet they realize they may be able to use each other to get what they want.





	1. Chapter 1

Hux couldn’t quite stop himself from starring. He would like to say he was doing something beyond starring, but there wasn’t much way around it. It was amazing how much his little brother looked like him. There really wasn’t much denying that they were related, except that his brother was maybe a little younger. As far as Hux recalled, the younger man sitting across from him was only about three or four years younger, but the way he curled in on himself made him look much younger. His fingers twitched against the uniform pants Hux had gotten for him. It didn’t look right. Hux didn’t like looking at him. It was like looking at himself if he’d been broken. 

“I tried,” his brother whispered softly. 

“I know,” Hux said. He sat on the edge of his desk. “You’re just going to have to stay here.” 

“Here?” his brother asked. He spoke just a little louder. He glanced up for a moment. They locked eyes for a moment. Hux got one good look at this sickly red rim of the implants. His brother got a look of his eyes, a softer, more human blue. They’d had the same eyes before. 

His brother didn’t drop his gaze. He looked away. Of course it was painful for him to see. 

“Yes, here,” Hux said. “It was foolish of me to try and leave you on a base.” Foolish but understandable. They looked so much alike. Hux didn’t like the idea of people seeing himself folded up the way his brother folded up. And it was too obvious a weakness. But his brother’s social skills were low enough that Hux should never have let him out of his sight once he found him. 

“Alright,” his brother said quietly. 

“I’m putting you back in tech,” Hux said. He found that he’d gentled his voice. He nearly sneered at himself for having done so. He spoke to his brother, Brendol Hux’s second son, like he was an injured animal. But in all honesty, the boy just was. He was wounded. Deeply. And it was Hux’s responsibility to care for him.

“I can do that,” his brother said. “Will… will it be okay if I keep my name?” 

Hux sighed heavily. “You know that isn’t really your name.” 

For once his brother got a stubborn look on his face. He pulled his mouth in an almost pout, but it was more stubborn than that. On Hux it might be a sneer. “It is to me.” 

“Fine,” Hux said. He picked up his datapad, programed in the last bit of information into the file and then handed it to his brother. 

“Technical Hux?” his brother asked. 

“It matches Armitage,” Hux said. 

His brother’s lips twitched just a bit. Hux wouldn’t even call it an almost smile. But it wasn’t a sad or scared expression. That was a start. 

* * *

Matt struggled with the clasps on his vest. They were as hideous and orange as they were every day he put the vest on. He’d been on the Finalizer for well over a year and still the vest was hideous, the jump suit was every bit as ugly, and worst was that neither of them fit right. It was a constant struggle between putting the vest on tight enough to stay, not too tight to constrict his breathing of movement, and not so loose that it fell off. And the jump suit was too short. If he wasn’t careful he ended up flashing his ankles.

Of all the things he bitched about, the fact that his uniform was awful was not one of them. While he had asked for a uniform that fit, he gave up after six months of getting one that wasn’t awful. He had some that were less terrible at least. He just tended to favor those more often. 

Other things that he didn’t complain about were things like his glasses, which were awful and unnecessary. And he didn’t complain about his hair, which should have been black like Kylo Ren’s, but had been genetically modified to be blond. Matt knew it was better than dying his hair, but he really, really hated seeing it be the wrong color whenever he looked in the mirror. 

He’d broken a lot of mirrors. 

The things he didn’t complain about were often the more important things, things he had to swear to keep secret or risk being sent to another ship. 

So he complained about his tools being kicked out of the way. He complained about the food. He complained about the way people talked about Kylo Ren. Not that anyone listened. He knew that people didn’t like him. 

They were just jealous. He was bigger and stronger than them. He could break most of them in half. Even the Stormtroopers. Especially the Stormtroopers. 

Although he’d been assured that if he got near another Stormtrooper again that he’d be sent to another ship, or worse, a planet base. He didn’t want that. He wanted to stay near Kylo Ren. He needed to stay near Kylo Ren. 

Matt left his rooms and headed for his work. He wasn’t late, but if he went early he could get more done before there were people around to bother him. Sometimes being a radar technician meant jumping into the ship itself to do repairs. This was one of those days when he was going to need to be crawling around inside the ship. 

He opened up the duct and set it aside to the left, protocol for do not reattach, unless you want to trap someone in a wall. Then he crawled into the duct. He started to follow the wires. Really, he should feel claustrophobic. The walls did always seem too close. But the walls were comforting in their own way. They were consistent. If he wanted he could lean in close to the wires and listen to the hum of the machinery. If he didn’t, he could press against the back walls and listen to whatever the people in the halls were talking about. 

Today his destination was actually a much busier part of the ship. He just came in through his favorite entry point, which was out of the way. He was less likely to disturb anyone going this way, or have anyone disturb him. It involved some crawling and climbing. But when he was in the ducts he could imagine he was in the middle of Stormtrooper training, or even on a mission. 

When he was younger he used to imagine that if he could keep up his physical training that he could come back and be a Stormtrooper again, that he could get his number back and be of even more use because he also knew a technical skill. He knew better now. But still, he liked to imagine he was doing something more exciting than working Radar. 

He climbed and crawled along until he got to his work space. It took him a while to realize that what he was looking at was a problem that probably had issues further up the line. He nearly groaned. It would mean being in and out of the duct all day long. 

He crawled out to one of the test spaces that the technicians set aside. These ducts were never sealed, for easy in and out for the technicians. There was also always someone in these rooms. Matt crawled out and went to a station. He logged in his plans, his planned route and what he’d already done, including the open duct which could be closed. 

Then headed back into the ducts. 

The only upside of duct work was he generally didn’t have to deal with people. The downside was that it was killer on the back and knees. And having to test along the line meant having to be on the move constantly. He was already thinking about using up his shower ration after work, just to have a chance at not being sore all over in the morning. 

The day passed in a blur of somewhat tedious, but definitely drawn out work. Matt realized as he came to what he hoped was the end of the problem that he was definitely over shift. He dropped into the last test room. This vent entrance was from the ceiling. There was a ladder inside he could lower down, but he didn’t feel like it. He dropped down on the balls of his feet and straightened out. 

He slowly stood and dusted himself off. The room really was very quiet. He looked up and saw someone staring at him. The man at the station had long red hair and startlingly inhuman blue eyes which were red rimming like he had a severe dust allergy or a cold. He was pale as snow, and getting paler by the second as he stared at Matt. 

Nice to know his reputation had proceeded him. This guy was probably new. The other technicians must have already told them bad things about Matt. 

“No matter what you’ve heard, I don’t bite,” Matt said. He covered the twinge of hurt her felt with anger. He stalked to one of the stations and dropped into the seat. He heard a cut off little whimper. He whipped his head up to glared at the man, only to see that he had ducked his head and nearly curled in on himself.

That was when Matt could a good look at the tattoos on his head, which was absolutely not regulation. It said “Male”, in jagged letters. Matt couldn’t imagine why anyone would get something like that on their head. 

The red haired man shuddered again and Matt wondered if maybe he hadn’t been the one to decide on it. 

“I’m just going to finish my report and leave,” Matt said more quietly. He started to plug in the last bit of information. He ran his last test. It seemed to work. He made that note and closed out the program and stood. 

The red haired man was still sitting there, with his eyes down, keeping still. Matt quietly got up and slowly moved to the door. He saw the man’s eyes flick up when he moved. Matt made certain he could be seen leaving. 

It felt unduly cruel to stay there with the man. If his work wasn’t done, it was going to be on someone else to finish. Matt was well over shift. He was done. 

* * *

“Is Kylo Ren a Radar Technician?” his brother asked. 

Hux looked up from his datapad and blinked at Techie. He normally didn’t say much in these meetings. Hux would ask if he was doing okay, Techie would nod. They’d sit in silence for a little while, then Hux would send Techie away. Hux hadn’t even gotten to asking his questions yet.

“No,” Hux said. “What makes you think that?” 

“I can see what’s under the helmet, and there’s a guy that looks like him who’s a Radar Technician,” Techie said. 

“Oh,” Hux said. It shouldn’t have been a problem, since Ren never really took off his helmet around other people. If it weren’t for the fact that Ren’s hair stuck out the back of his helmet sometimes no one should have known. The blond hair for the Technician was just a precaution. But, of course Techie’s implants would have an xray feature, blowing right through the neat disguise Ren had undertaken. 

“Is he?” Techie asked more insistently. 

“No,” Hux said. “They’re two different people. But I would suggest keeping away from them both. They both have fairly violent tempers.” 

“Oh,” Techie said, deflating a bit. “I thought you said Kylo Ren wouldn’t hurt me.” 

“He won’t,” Hux said vehemently. He knew that Ren had been informed of the situation surrounding Hux’s brother. Ren had assured Hux that he wouldn’t touch Techie for any reason. Hux trusted that. 

“Then will the Radar Technician? Will he hurt me?” Techie asked. There was a tremor in his voice. It made Hux sigh. 

“No,” he said. “He wants to stay on this ship. Fighting will get him thrown off. But he might yell or throw things. So just stay away.” 

“Okay,” Techie said quietly. All the energy was gone from his voice. Hux felt a stab of regret. 

“Otherwise, are you doing alright?” he asked, making his voice gentle. 

Techie just nodded. Hux resisted the urge to sigh again. And they were back to this same thing all over again.

* * *

Matt hacked into the system easily enough, looking for information about the tattoo. He didn’t know the guy’s name, and the tattoo seemed the most identifiable. It twisted Matt’s stomach to see that in some parts of the intergalactic slave trade that traders would tattoo the gender of the slave on some part of their body. 

Matt stopped looking after that. His stomach twisted with fury and he spent extra time with the punching bags. This was what the New Republic had allowed to happen. This was why Kylo Ren fought so hard. It was for people like that small red haired man. 

Matt decided that if he saw the man again that he’d do his best to be nice. He also decided that he wasn’t going to specifically going to seek the man out again. Still, when his supervisor instructed him to go work back in the test room that he’d first met the red haired man, Matt couldn’t help but be a little excited. 

He even considered dropping out of the vent again, because that had been pretty cool. But he decided it would be less shocking if he just entered the door like a normal person. 

The test room was as quiet as it had been when Matt had been there a few days before. He wasn’t surprised then when the red haired man’s head came up when he saw him. He looked nervous again. 

“Hi,” Matt said. “I’m Matt, I’m a Radar Technician.” 

The red haired man looked at him distrustfully, then he looked back at his screen. Matt couldn’t help but be a little disappointed. 

He lumbered over to one of the wall panels near the floor. He carefully removed the screws and set them and the panel aside. The problem he’d been working on a few days back had been fixed, but fixing it set off a chain reaction that made something else not work. Sometimes that was what happened. 

Matt began working with the wires, and the little monitoring screen, trying a few basic things to knock the system into working. Just a little restart should get it online, and then Matt could work more in-depth at a station of make certain it was all working. 

“W-what are you doing?” the red haired man asked. When Matt turned he saw that he was peering over the station to look at Matt. 

“The radar in this sector is dropping off the last half of its range. I’m doing a hard reset,” he said, trying to use simple terms. 

“Oh,” the other man said. He bit his bottom lip for a moment. “My name’s Techie,” he said. 

“A Techie named Techie?” Matt asked, he couldn’t help but smile a little. This felt like success.

“Yes,” Techie said slowly. “Are you… are you going to throw things at me?” 

“Why would I do that?” Matt asked. 

“Someone said you would,” Techie said. He ducked his head. Matt could see that because he’d stood up so he could see Techie better. 

“It only happened once,” Matt said. 

“Your file says seven times,” Techie said. 

“You read my file?” Matt asked. He wondered why Techie was talking to him if he’d read his file.

“Yes,” Techie said. “I saw… you look a lot like Kylo Ren, and I thought… I thought you were him.” 

“You thought I was Kylo Ren?” Matt said. He knew he should be afraid. He was absolutely not to be recognized. But he could not be more pleased. 

“Yeah,” Techie said quietly. “You’re not him, right?” 

“I’m not,” Matt said. Which he hated. “Wait, how do you know how he looks?” 

“Um… my eyes,” Techie said. His voice got so quiet he had to strain to hear. He couldn’t make it all out, but he did get the word “implants”. 

“The implants have xray vision?” Matt asked. 

Techie nodded, dropping his gaze. “You have the same face. I just wondered.” 

“I’m not Kylo Ren… do you like Kylo Ren?” Matt asked, trying not to sound too hopeful. No one wanted to talk about Kylo Ren with him.

“I… was told he wouldn’t hurt me,” Techie said quietly. 

Yeah, Kylo Ren would protect someone like Techie. Matt was certain of that. 

“I won’t hurt you either,” Matt said. 

“They said you get mad and throw things,” Techie said. 

“Yeah, but I don’t hit people… I mean I did once, but I don’t like it,” he said. And that was a lot of the problem with him. He could hurt people, but he always felt sick with guilt afterwards. He tried to not do that now. It wasn’t good for a technician to do. 

“You promise you won’t hurt me?” Techie asked. 

“I swear,” Matt said. “I don’t want to hurt you anyway.” 

“I don’t want to be hurt,” Techie said. 

“I don’t blame you,” Matt said. Matt moved a little closer. Techie watched him, but he didn’t seem to recoil, so Matt continued walking forward until he was standing on the other side of the work station Techie sat at. 

“I feel like some people do,” Techie admitted. He looked hesitant, like he wasn’t certain he should have said that. 

“Yeah, they probably do,” Matt said, thinking back on some of the people he’d known in his life. “So, are you new here?” 

“Somewhat,” Techie said. “I’ve been here a month. Mostly no one comes out here.” He nodded to the test station. It was in a place that generally didn’t need maintenance but also was far enough out that it didn’t really connect to anything that important, not directly for most techies anyway. And the techies who could work from any station often chose some of the newest, nicest stations. These were older. 

“So, you don’t see a lot of people?” Matt asked. 

“Not really,” Techie said. 

“Have you made any friends over meals?” 

“I… tend to work the odd hours,” Techie said. The mess hall had some kind of food available at all hours. It wasn’t impossible to eat and never see anyone if you really wanted to. But even Matt didn’t hate people that much.

“I see,” Matt said. 

“Yeah,” Techie looked back down at his work. 

“So… uh, do you know Kylo Ren?” Matt asked. Well, he might as well fall back on his old favorites. 

“Not… exactly,” Techie said. He took a deep breath and then blew it out. “I saw him a few times. I met him once or twice. He just kind of stared, but he didn’t say much.” 

“Kylo Ren is so cool,” Matt said. He sat down in the station next to Techie. “He’s like the best fighter. He’s so good at what he does.” 

“I know,” Techie said. He smiled a little. Matt felt his heart lift. Finally, finally someone understood. 

“Have you ever seen his lightsaber? It’s amazing!” Matt said loudly. 

Techie flinched. Matt’s smile dropped. He wondered if maybe he should apologize. But then Techie started speaking. “I watched some old video footage. I thought stopping blaster bolts was cooler. I wish I could do what he did.” 

Matt smiled in his weird, lopsided way. “Oh yeah, that’s cool too. I would give anything to be able to do what he does.” His heart clenched. He really would give anything to be more like Kylo Ren. If he had the Force everything in his life would be so much better. 

“I don’t think I’d give anything,” Techie said, trepidation in his voice. Matt focused in on him. Techie hadn’t shrunk into himself. He just looked uncomfortable. 

“Yeah, well I’ll get out of your way,” he said. He stood a moved to another station. 

“It’s okay,” Techie said. 

“It’s fine,” Matt assured him. “No reason to be on top of each other while we’re working.” 

“What you’re working on… will it take a long time?” Techie asked. 

“Maybe? I don’t really think so. But no one else wants to do it so I can take my time on it. Or I can finish up and get out. Just, you know, whatever you want.” Maker, Matt felt so stupid for saying it like that. He almost wanted to apologize just for sounding like an idiot. 

But Techie had actually perked up. “Whatever I want?” he asked. 

“Well, yeah,” Matt said. “That’s what I said, right?” 

“So, if I wanted you to stay, you’d what?” 

“Stay,” Matt said. 

“And if I wanted you to leave. You’d?” 

“I’d finish my work and get out,” Matt said. “Cause I do still have to do my job… so, what do you want?” 

“Oh, well, um…” Techie trailed off. He looked thoughtful. “I think you can stay. I don’t see a lot of people. And as long as I can work…. I guess it would be kind of cool to have someone here.” 

“Okay, then I’ll stay,” Matt said. He turned and started to work on his problem. He waited to see if Techie would say anything. After a moment Matt heard tapping and knew that Techie was working as well. 

Matt didn’t try particularly hard to get done quickly, but it really wasn’t very hard work. He hesitated to send in his report once he finished. Instead he looked at Techie, just watching him work. Matt was close enough to be able to hear the little whirring sound Techie’s eyes made when they were zooming in an out. It wasn’t a loud sound, but it sounded different than the normal static of the test room machines. 

Techie looked up at him for a moment and then down at his work. He looked nervous again. 

“I finished,” Matt said. 

“Okay,” Techie said. “You can go.” 

“Oh,” Matt mumbled. He hit send on his report and then stood up and stretched. “See you around.” 

He waited for a moment for Techie to say something. When he didn’t, Matt sighed and walked out. It had seemed like they’d been doing well for a moment, but that was clearly only in his own mind. 

* * *

Techie took a few deep breaths before he stepped into the room. He really, really probably should not be here. The work out rooms were mainly for Stormtroopers. The main rooms were for Stormtroopers and the officers in the Trooper corp. There was a gym for officers, and a private one for personnel who were special and needed privacy. His brother, Captain Phasma, Kylo Ren and his Knights could all use that one. Techie probably could too if he asked. 

But Techie wasn’t going to the gym to work out. He was going because he wanted to see Matt again. 

He’d let a few days pass. His brother didn’t seem to like Matt, but Matt hadn’t been mean to him. Techie knew he was broken. He wasn’t what he was supposed to be. But he was also tired of being so scared all the time. Matt had approached him first, twice now. Techie wanted to try approaching. 

If this didn’t work, maybe Techie could practice on Kylo Ren. At least Techie had complete assurance that Kylo Ren would not harm him, even if he got angry at Techie for bothering him. 

Techie had easily hacked into Matt’s file. There were some deeply encrypted portions of the file. Techie needed to take more time to get into those. Getting in would be easy. Not alerting Armitage to the entrance was much more difficult. Techie didn’t have a deadline. No one was breathing down his neck on this. He could take his time. But until then he wanted to try talking to Matt.

The regular file on Matt stated that he’d been flunked out of the Stormtrooper program and assigned to the Tech Corp. According to the file, Matt was a great Radar Technician and that he was good at hotwiring machines and making odd fixes with what would generally be considered inefficient tools. He was also a decent hacker when the moment called for it. If something needed a temporary fix to keep it running until a more major repair had to be done, Matt would be pulled off his normal work and put on the repair, no matter what the division. 

The file also said that Matt easily got into verbal fights and occasionally physical ones. Also, he really liked to work out. He logged so many gym hours that Techie wondered if Matt actually slept. 

Considering that, Techie decided to approach him at the gym. The station Armitage had put him in was one that mostly never had people come by, so Matt was unlikely to return there. Also, Techie didn’t want to try and eat at the mess hall, or even enter just to find Matt. It was much easier to monitor Matt’s gym time and pick an hour when other people normally weren’t there.

Techie had checked on the datapad Armitage had gifted him to be certain Matt really was in the gym before he entered. Once Techie was inside it wasn’t hard to find Matt. He was the only person there and when Techie got a look at him her felt his heart flip right over.

Matt was a tall man, and he was big. Techie knew this. It was hard not to know when Matt barely fit into his jumpsuit. But being faced with Matt in the gym was an entirely different reality. For one thing, Matt wasn’t wearing a shirt. For a second he was wearing really tight shorts. And he didn’t have his glasses one. 

Techie had liked the glasses. It made Matt seem less big somehow. Just less threatening. But this Matt was all muscle and looked like he could easily break Techie into a thousand pieces. And Techie still was wishing he could touch Matt. That was just all the more frightening. 

Techie must have made a noise because suddenly Matt whipped around. He starred at Techie for a moment, heavy weights in his hands. He slowly put down the weight. Then he grabbed for something off to the side. When he straightened back up he was wearing his glasses again. 

That made Techie feel better. He looked less dangerous, but no less like a man far too handsome for that awful jump suit. 

“Hi, Matt,” Techie said. He was proud of himself for his voice not being too soft. 

“Hey, Techie,” Matt said. “Did you need something?” 

“Not in particular,” Techie said. He was having a hard time dragging his eyes from Matt’s abs. When he did, and looked at Matt’s face again he saw that Matt was smirking. “What?” 

“You know, Kylo Ren looks just as good,” Matt said. 

Something fizzled in Techie’s mind. Was that supposed to be a pick up line? Because it was possibly the worst in history. Also, he suddenly was very curious to see Kylo outside of costume he wore. 

“I’ve seen him work out before,” Matt said. “He has like an eight-pack.” 

“Oh,” Techie said. What do you say to that? “Well, I think you look good. So I guess Kylo Ren must look good too.” 

That just seemed like such a stupid thing to say, but Matt actually grinned. 

“Yeah, I think so too,” Matt said. “So, are you here to work out?” 

Techie resisted the urge to poke the soft skin around his stomach. “Not really,” he said. “I just… I wanted to watch you?”

“Oh, cool,” Matt said. “Well… I mean I was finishing up, but I can go do more lifting if you want to see?”

“Well,” Techie said. “No, I would rather talk with you.” 

“Really?” Now Matt just sounded bewildered. 

Techie dropped his gaze. He meant to look at Matt’s feet, but he ended up staring at Matt’s small gym shorts. Techie felt his face get really red and he dropped his gaze even more. 

“I just liked talking with you before,” Techie said. And if Matt was working out he’d take his glasses off again and Techie wasn’t really ready for that.

“Oh,” Matt said. “Well… uh, how about I shower and get dressed and we can talk?” 

“Yeah,” Techie said to the floor. “Sounds good.” 

“Oh, okay then,” Matt said. Techie watched Matt’s feet walk away. When Matt was out of the rom Techie found a place to sit down. 

He ended up trying to catch his breath. How could a man actually look that good? 

Techie closed his eyes when they started to distort. It hadn’t mattered back when he was with Ma Ma, but on a ship where water was rationed and people normally cleaned themselves with sonic showers, Techie had a problem. His vision began to distort whenever he was in proximity. His eyes were trying to follow the waves. It was a downside he still wasn’t used to dealing with. Mostly he just closed his eyes and disengaged them when he knew he was near a sonic shower. It made cleaning himself interesting, but otherwise it had become a minor hindrance. Mostly.

“You awake?” Matt asked. Techie jolted and opened his eyes. Apparently Matt had gotten out of the sonic shower and Techie hadn’t noticed. 

“Yeah,” Techie said. He stood up. “So, uh,” he glanced around. He didn’t want anyone else to walk in on them. They probably wouldn’t, but he didn’t want it. “Would you like to go to my room?” 

“Yes,” Matt said quickly. “Do you have a roommate?” 

“No,” Techie said. 

“Lucky,” Matt said. “Lead the way.” 

“Okay,” Techie said. He stood and led Matt out. Matt didn’t walk that close, but Techie was still pretty certain that he could feel Matt’s heat radiating out. 

Techie’s room wasn’t that close to the gym. It was on the same floor as the middle of nowhere tech room that Armitage had assigned him to. It made it easier for him to get to his job without being bothered. Normally Techie was grateful. But every step he took seemed like another step away from actual conversation. 

But Matt didn’t complain. When they got in and the door opened for them, Matt followed Techie right in. 

“Wow, this is huge,” Matt said. And it was big. It was a room that had been a left over space on that floor. Two. Armitage had a small hot rack room, where Stormtroopers and other workers could nap for a little while between swifts during battle, combined with an unused and rather large storage closet. The end result was a room as big as Armitage’s own, which was voluminous. 

Not only that, but Armitage had soft carpet installed. Techie loved that. He slipped his shoes off and left them by the door. He padded over to his desk. The plush fibers between his toes were soothing to him. 

“Please, take off your shoes,’” Techie said. He turned and saw that Matt was still standing in the door way. “You can come in.” 

“Yeah,” Matt said. He pulled off his shoes and walked in. Techie had a lovely desk chair, but he also had a little dining table. Matt pulled a chair from there over and came to sit next to Techie. “This place is amazing.” 

“Yeah,” Techie said. “I got lucky I guess.” 

“Yeah,” Matt said. He said it like he was thinking of something. Whatever it is it made Matt’s shoulders slump. 

“I…um, I don’t do well with people,” Techie said. 

“I noticed,” Matt said. “But you do okay with me.” 

“Well, not great, but okay,” Techie said. He bit his bottom lip and then pressed on. “I want to get better at talking to people.”

“Oh,” Matt said. “So… am I like, practice?” 

“Well, you said you wouldn’t hurt me,” Techie mumbled. 

“Yeah, I did,” Matt said. “So yeah, I guess I am good to practice on.” 

“Oh good.” Techie let out a relieved sigh. He reached for one of his half-finished wire figures. He liked to have something to do with his hands. It also gave him something to look at which wasn’t Matt. 

“Do you talk to other people?” Matt asked. 

“Just my brother. But then, not really,” Techie mumbled. 

“You have a brother?” Matt asked. 

Techie looked up and raised a brow. He’d been certain Matt would have known. That was part of why he avoided people. He’d tried more when he was at the other base. But too many people tried to befriend him to get favors from Armitage. Techie could tell when their pulse sped up. It wasn’t hard to catch people in a lie. 

But he wasn’t always the best at it. He’d made mistakes already. He didn’t want to make them again. 

“Oh shit,” Matt breathed. “General Hux!” 

Okay, so maybe he didn’t know. But that didn’t explain why his heart rate kicked up so much like he was actually afraid. Techie didn’t say anything. He wanted to see what Matt would say. He watched Matt’s heart rate slow down. He became distracted by it. So he jumped when Matt spoke. 

“Wait, if you’re the General’s brother, why were you a slave?”

If it were possible, Techie would be seeing red. As it was, he was certain he’d gone white. He wondered for only a second how Matt knew. Then he remembered that Matt could hack. 

“You hacked into my file!” Techie said. 

“No I didn’t!” Matt protested. He was red with embarrassments. Good, at least Techie wasn’t the only one feeling bad. 

“How else would you know?” It sounded like a wail in Techie’s own ears. He winced at how loud he was being. If Ma Ma heard him make that noise she would have raked her favorite knife up and down his back. He started to shiver at the very thought. 

“The- the tattoo,” Matt said. He was speaking very softly. Techie had to strain hear. When he did all the fight left him. 

“Oh,” Techie whispered. He scratched the tattoo, wishing he could just scratch the whole damn thing off. But he kept his movements as a slow scratch. He didn’t need to alert Matt to those thoughts. Someone might call medical on him and then Armitage would be involved. Techie shuddered. 

“I’m sorry,” Matt said quietly. “I just couldn’t understand why you had it. It’s not regulation.” 

“Like your hair is regulation,” Techie shot back. 

Matt grabbed the ends of his hair. It was such a self-conscious move. Techie hadn’t realized that Matt could make himself look small. He dropped his fingers from his curls and opened his mouth. But no sound came out. 

For a moment they sat there, just struggling to find the words to say. 

“I hurt you,” Matt finally said. He slumped his shoulders in a kind of defeat. “I didn’t mean to, but I did it.” 

Techie fiddled with the uniform pants he had on. It was almost funny because as much as he did feel hurt, he wouldn’t have counted this as Matt hurting him. But Matt did. Armitage did too. That’s why Armitage spoke to him so gently sometimes. 

“I… I forgive you.” 

Matt’s head whipped up. He looked surprised. Techie had surprised himself by saying those words. But he did mean them. He still hurt, but Techie only had one whole other person in the world who cared if they hurt him. 

“You mean it?” Matt asked. 

“I do,” Techie said. He turned away and faced his desk. “But you should go.” 

“Oh,” Matt said. He stood up. Techie listened to him drag the chair back to the table and then leave. 

Maybe Techie should have said something else. Once Matt was gone, Techie realized how final his words had sounded. What if Matt wouldn’t want to talk with him? 

Armitage would say “In that case, he doesn’t deserve your attention”. Unfortunately, Techie didn’t have the luxury of sending people away from him. But Techie also didn’t have the energy to run after Matt and explain. Matt would just have to wait. Techie knew where to find him.

Techie began working with his little wire figure again. He needed to not think for a while, keep his hands busy. He hadn’t tried a really complicated figure in a while. Maybe he should try making a plan this time. At least it would give him something to do.


	2. Chapter 2

Techie almost wanted to ignore it. He wanted to pretend like Matt had never asked him where he came from. He spent an entire day scratching at his tattoo until he made the skin bleed and he had to go to medical. They applied a little bacta and his wound closed right up. He told them that he’d scratched his head on a bit of machinery and they believed him. At the very least they didn’t call Armitage, even if they didn’t believe him. And Armitage’s instructions were that everything important should be brought to him if it involved Techie. 

Even with being healed, he still couldn’t stop thinking about his tattoo. Who else would get curious about him, look that up and find out the truth. How many people would know what a shame he was to the Hux name? Was there a way to block out searches for his tattoo? Would it be bad? Would it hurt something? 

He could ask at least. 

The second day after he sent Matt away, Techie headed to his brother’s room. Armitage had programmed the door to open for Techie. Techie just walked right in. He didn’t even think about it. That was a bad idea. He knew as soon as he didn’t see Armitage. 

It was one thing to see Kylo Ren through xray. It was another to see him in real life and very naked. Kylo Ren turned around slowly. He blinked at Techie like he couldn’t be quite certain of what he was seeing. It occurred to Techie that aside from the scars that Matt probably looked exactly like Kylo Ren when he was naked. 

Kylo Ren scowled. “What do you want?” 

“A-armitage s-said I could come t-to him if I n-needed s-something.” He hated how weak he sounded. All of this was because he was too weak. He shouldn’t even be here. He was just causing problems for everyone. 

“Hey,” Kylo Ren said, affecting a more gentle tone. “You’re not a problem.” 

Of course Kylo Ren read minds. How could he forget? 

“Ren, what are you doing to my brother?” Armitage snapped. Techie whipped his head around. 

Armitage was wearing only a clean pair of regulation underwear. He didn’t have any problem being naked with someone apparently. Techie had no idea that his brother was sleeping with Kylo Ren. They seemed to hate each other. It seemed like Techie really don’t know anything about Armitage at all. 

“I didn’t do anything,” Kylo Ren said. “He just burst in suddenly.” 

“You told me I could come if I needed something,” Techie said. 

“It has to do with my clone,” Kylo Ren. He said the word ‘clone’ with great sarcasm in his voice. His voice sounded so much like Matt’s outside of the mask. Of course he was talking about Matt. Techie felt a little incensed that Kylo Ren would speak so badly for Matt when Matt didn’t do anything but speak reverently of Kylo Ren. 

“What did he do?” Armitage’s subzero tone cut through Techie’s thoughts. 

“He didn’t do anything,” Techie said quickly. He looked at Kylo Ren who was still naked, still angry and still a mind reader. 

Techie realized in a flash that if Armitage learned why Techie was really there, that he would send Matt away. He couldn’t focus on the whys or thee specifics. Instead he thought about Ma Ma. He remembered her knife on his stomach, focused on that fear. It was as overwhelming as it always was. It pushed literally everything else out. 

“Techie,” Armitage said. His voice sounded very far away and also alarmed. 

“He’s having a flashback,” Kylo Ren informed Armitage. His voice too was very far away. 

“Techie, you’re here with me,” Armitage said. Techie felt hands on his shoulders. He flinched. “Tech, just pay attention to my voice. It’s Armitage. And it’s okay. Whatever’s wrong I’ll fix it.” 

Yes, Armitage always did that. He’d always fixed everything. He was good at everything and he could fix it all. He always had been able to. He’d gotten Techie back. He’d saved him. Armitage always fixed it. 

“He’s coming back,” Kylo Ren said. His voice sounded closer. It sounded like Matt’s voice. 

“Techie?” Armitage asked. 

“I’m okay,” Techie rasped. “Just… sometimes…” He didn’t know what to say. 

“Did that useless rat hurt you?” Armitage asked. Techie felt confused for a moment. Then he realized Armitage hurt Matt. 

“No,” Techie said quickly before he could think about it. “Matt’s not useless. He- He really likes me. He gives me space when I want it. He really… he’s… we’re together. Like you and Kylo Ren are.”

He almost didn’t know what he was saying. By the looks on his brother’s face (and Kylo Ren’s), they were equally shocked. Then they both looked uneasy. 

“Techie… the Radar Technician isn’t really a good person to take as… as a lover,” Armitage said. His voice sounded a bit strangled. 

“Why not?” Techie asked. “Why not? He’s really gentle with me and he tries really hard not to upset me. And I can talk to him.” 

“Talking to someone isn’t a reason to fuck them,” Kylo Ren said. 

Techie glared at Kylo Ren. He didn’t like how he talked about Matt. They looked alike and maybe Kylo Ren just didn’t like that. But it didn’t matter because Matt was a good man. He tried when no one else did. He wasn’t looking for favors. Kylo Ren shouldn’t speak badly of Matt. 

Techie was surprised when Kylo Ren backed off. 

“He’s got your eyes,” Kylo Ren said. Techie blinked and puzzlement. He used to, but he didn’t anymore. 

“Ren,” Armitage hissed. Then he focused back in on Techie. “Listen… I don’t think that-”

“I know you don’t like Matt either,” Techie said. “But you told me that I needed to try talking to people… and I can with him. And when I can’t he leaves me alone. He doesn’t ask for much except my attention sometimes and he leaves when I can’t provide that. He’s not even upset about it. He just understands I have… problems.” 

He looked down at his feet. He was sitting on the bed. He didn’t remember sitting. Armitage must have made him sit when he was lost in the memory. 

“What is it?” Armitage asked. 

“I… I’m afraid he’ll find out what happened,” Techie said. He pushed his real fear forward so that Kylo Ren wouldn’t realize he was lying. “He asked about my tattoo… is there a way to take… reference to it out of the database. At least on this ship? What if someone finds out?” 

Armitage pulled an unhappy face. He was still and silent for a long moment. Techie didn’t know if Armitage would agree or not, but he hoped. 

“Alright,” Armitage said quietly. 

“Thank you,” Techie whispered. He dropped his eyes. His mission was done, now he just wanted to go back to his room and hide.

* * *

Occasionally Matt realized far too late that he’d done something irreparably stupid. It only occurred to Matt about two days after Techie throwing him out of his room just what a mistake Matt had made. Matt had been busy feeling guilty about hurting Techie. Which, to be fair, he definitely should have. He shouldn’t have gone snooping. But then it occurred to him suddenly that Techie was General Hux’s baby brother. The same General Hux who told him this was his last chance. 

If Techie said anything to General Hux at all, Matt was as good as dead. It wasn’t like his life accounted for much anyway. He was a failed experiment. His continued existence was only because he’d been so damned expensive to make and because he was the only experiment that had made it to adulthood at all. 

And Matt was certain that if Kylo Ren had his way that Matt would be sent back under the knife and used to further experiments where maybe one of his clones could actually use the force. It was one of the reasons he’d was glad he’d cost so much.

And now any moment could be last. Would Kylo Ren come at him with his lightsaber or would General Hux just blast him out of an airlock? He wouldn’t be surprised. One the other hand, he wouldn’t be surprised if the General relegated the execution to someone else like Matt was yesterday’s trash. 

Matt dealt with that thought the best way he knew how: he went for the punching bags. It was late and no one liked working out when he was around anyway. He’d stripped down to his workout shorts and was wailing away at a punching bag. 

Punching bags were good. He could break a punching bag and the only thing he’d get was a stern look. He couldn’t actually hurt a punching bag. They didn’t have feelings. But Matt had feelings and he could put them all into his fists and into the bag.

And if he was going to die, he might as well go down fighting. 

“Matt?” a soft voice cut through his thoughts. Matt grabbed the bag to steady it. He turned and looked at Techie, who was staring. 

Of course Matt made quite a picture. He was sweating all over and his blond hair was sticking to his head and he didn’t even have his glasses on. But Techie was offering him his glasses. Matt took them and put them on. He already had perfect vision, but it helped with the disguise. 

“I thought you didn’t want me around,” Matt said. 

“No,” Techie said. “I just wanted to be alone for a little while. And I wanted to say thank you, for leaving.” 

“Oh… ah, you’re welcome?” Matt said. 

“I needed the space,” Techie said. “But, uh, I think I made a mistake.” 

“What mistake?” Matt said. Maybe Techie really didn’t want to see him again? 

“Armitage… he. Well, you see I went to see him about something and Kylo Ren was there and he thought that you had hurt me and he was really mad and so was Armitage, so I told them we were dating so Armitage wouldn’t hurt you. And now my brother thinks we’re dating.” Techie had started speaking very quickly, but Matt still heard all of it. 

He just didn’t know what to say. What does one say to all of that? 

“Well,” Matt said. 

“Yes,” Techie said. He looked really distressed. “I’m sorry. I just was worried that they’d hurt you and I didn’t want that.” 

“Well, I appreciate that you didn’t want to hurt me,” Matt said. Looks like his fears weren’t totally unfounded. But at least Techie hadn’t meant to actually have him murdered. So that was a plus. 

“But I made the problem worse,” Techie said quietly. He dropped his head, seeming to curl into himself. 

“I think being thrown out of the airlock would have been a lot worse,” Matt said. Techie flinched. Clearly that was the wrong thing to say. “Okay,” Matt said, trying again. “So there’s no way out of this dating thing without me dying. Right?” 

“Right?” Techie said. He just drooped even more. 

“Well, then how about I do date you,” Matt said. 

“What?” Techie asked, looking up. “You’re not mad?” 

“No,” Matt said. He’d been too afraid of being killed to be mad. He was relieved that Techie was so resourceful, really. And that Techie gave enough of a damn about him to not want him dead. Maybe it was pathetic, but Matt wasn’t used to that much care in his life. 

“But you’re… you know, stuck with me,” Techie said. 

“I’m not really setting the woods one fire when it comes to dating,” Matt said. 

“What does that mean?” Techie asked. He looked up at Matt with curious eyes. He really did look so much like General Hux and yet not like him at all. 

“Nothing. All I’m saying it that it’s not like it’s an imposition. And you know, we can work with this, I think.” 

“Work with it how?” Techie asked. He sounded so curious. Matt swallowed and tried not to get absorbed in that gaze of his. 

“Well, I mean, you know Kylo Ren, right?” 

“Well, I’ve met him before and he promised not to hurt me. And he and my brother are like… dating,” Techie said. 

Matt felt a little jealous. So Techie really did know Kylo Ren. That’s not a secret Kylo Ren would share with just anyone. “Yeah, well I want to get to know him better,” Matt said. “And if I’m around you the maybe he’ll be willing to see me.” 

“I don’t know,” Techie said. “He’s not really nice. I don’t think it’s a good idea.” 

“I don’t care if it’s a good idea,” Matt snapped. “Sorry,” he said quickly. He could still hear the anger in his voice. “Sorry,” he tried again, sounding calmer. 

“I’ll try,” Techie said slowly. “If you want.” 

“I do,” Matt said. “Now what do you want?” 

“I want?” Techie asked. 

“Yeah. This is a trade. I help you and you help me,” Matt said, using his hands to indicate the two of them. 

“Well,” Techie began. He was speaking slowly. “I want to be able to talk to people.” 

“You talk to people. You talk to me fine,” Matt said. 

“Other people,” Techie said. “I can’t talk to anyone else. I can’t even really talk to Armitage. I want to be able to talk to people again. Can you do that?” 

Matt wasn’t certain. He wasn’t really good with people. But then Techie just seemed to seize up around strangers. At least Matt wasn’t that bad. 

“Yeah, I can do that,” Matt said. He was pretty sure he could get Techie up to his level anyway. “So, do we shake on this?” 

“No, I believe you,” Techie said. He lowered his eyes. 

“Okay then,” Matt said. “Do you need anything else?”

“Not really,” Techie said. He was hesitating though. 

“What is it?” Matt asked. 

“Did you know Kylo Ren has an eight pack?” Techie asked. He spoke slowly, and he was almost smiling, just a little bit. 

Matt grinned. “Of course he does! He’s Kylo Ren!”

* * *

“I can’t believe that useless double of yours made moves on my brother,” Hux nearly snarled. 

“I can’t believe your brother has that much bad taste that he likes that pale imitation,” Ren said from the bed. He was grinning. 

“Bad taste apparently runs in the family,” Hux said ruefully. Ren’s smile dropped off. 

“Come on, Hux. I’m not that bad.” He got up and tried to coax Hux back to bed. Hux shoved Ren back on the bed and walked away. He came back though, but only because he was pacing back and forth. 

“What if he hurts Techie? He has no self-control,” Hux muttered. 

“Maybe your brother knows what he’s doing,” Ren offered. 

Hux scoffed. “My brother can’t deal with talking to anyone at all.” 

“And he clearly talked to my useless clone enough to want to fuck him,” Ren said. 

“If you’re trying to get me back to bed, you’re not doing a good job,” Hux snapped. 

Ren smirked. “He’s enough like me to be attracted to you.” 

“Techie isn’t like me,” Hux said. 

“He is,” Ren insisted. He got up and put his arms around Hux. “He’s analytical. Granted, toward computers, but he knows people enough that he’s been able to survive. He’s very smart. Like you. And he’s one of the toughest people I’ve ever met. As are you. If he hadn’t been kidnapped and sold, I imagine he’d be exactly like you, except he’d be diving head first into droids and tech to take down the opposition. You’re more people oriented.” 

Hux didn’t shove Ren off, and in fact let Ren coax him back into bed, which Ren did happily. “I have a hard time seeing him being like me,” Hux said. 

“It’s because you don’t want to see yourself like that,” Ren said. Hux stiffened in his arms. Ren pressed on. “He adapted to survive, to do the best he could in his environment. And he’s adapting again. My useless clone won’t hurt him. He’s aware. But your brother has picked a strong companion and protector. And my useless clone sees the value in your brother. Because under every bit of docile facsimile is a powerful man.” 

Hux looked thoughtful, which Ren was glad of. A thoughtful Hux was something he could work with. Hux was changeable, but not moldable. Whatever Ren wanted he had to work within whatever Hux already was doing. Angry Hux was not easy to work with because he threw up every wall. Thoughtful Hux was open to listening to ideas and forming new conclusions. 

“You think well of Techie,” Hux said. 

“I think well of you and your bloodline,” Ren said. He kept the jealousy out of his voice. Barely. 

“Mmm,” Hux murmured, nodding. “What will he become?” 

“I haven’t a clue,” Ren said. “But I’m going to observe them both closely. When my clone stops being of use to your brother, he’ll drop him.” That was a root of his own anxiety. He knew that his own Hux would drop him when he ceased to be useful. So he strode to always be useful.

“Good,” Hux said coldly. But then he turned and gave Ren kisses. Ren opted not to bother thinking about the clone anymore. He had much more important people to focus on.

* * *

They were in Techie’s room again. Matt was trying very hard not to think about what happened the last time he was there. He wasn’t doing a good job, especially since the first thing that happened when Techie walked in was that he sat down in his chair and started working on making a little wire figure. They hadn’t spoken in nearly ten minutes and Matt as still standing. 

Matt wasn’t certain if Techie had it in him to be vindictive like his big brother, but he would be really effective at it if he wanted to be. 

“So,” Matt finally said. “How do we start with this?” 

“I’m not certain,” Techie said. His head was still down and he kept fiddling with the wires. “I’m trying to think of the best way to get you near Kylo Ren without him breaking you in two. But I can’t think of anything.” 

“He wouldn’t do that,” Matt said. He’d ignore the hell out of Matt, but he wouldn’t break the investment. 

“I find that dubious,” Techie said. 

“Why don’t we start with you?” Matt said. 

“Me?” Techie asked. He finally looked up from his wires. 

“Getting you to talk to people,” Matt said. “You said before you knew Kylo Ren wouldn’t hurt you, right?” 

“Yes,” Techie said tentatively. 

“Well, why don’t you start by talking with him?” Matt offered. 

Techie made a face. “I don’t know,” he said. “What if Armitage gets jealous or something?” 

It took Matt a moment to realize that Techie meant his brother Hux. Hearing the General’s first name so casually made Matt’s skin crawl. It was way too familiar for the man who could easily end his life. He was reminded all over again that Techie was doing this trying to protect Matt from his big brother. 

“Tell Kylo Ren that you want to get you brother a gift, but you need help,” Matt suggested. 

“Oh,” Techie said. “I wouldn’t know what to get him.” 

“Then that’s perfect,” Matt said. 

“Matt, you know Kylo Ren doesn’t really count as ‘people’,” Techie said. 

“Yeah, but it’s someone to talk to who isn’t me,” Matt said. Well, it sort of was. “So it’s another person to practice on. We’ll start taking you out around other people later. But let’s start with getting you talking to more than one person.” 

“You think this will work?” Techie said. “Kylo Ren isn’t… well, he’s not exactly talkative.” 

“He’s fucking your brother, right?” 

Techie winced. “That’s how he would describe it, I’m sure.” 

Of course he would. “Then he’s going to be protective of you because he’ll want to stay on the General’s good side, at the very least.” 

“Oh, that makes sense,” Techie said.

“Techie, can I ask you a question?” Matt asked. He walked over to Techie and sat down at his feet, just tired of standing. Techie jolted a bit, but he looked down at Matt and didn’t move away. 

“I guess,” Techie said. “Do I have to answer?” 

“Not at all,” Matt said. “But they’re about you and if I go too far just tell me to fuck off.” 

“I don’t think I could do that,” Techie said. 

“Then whatever you can say. I want to ask things but I know they might be personal,” Matt said. 

“Okay,” Techie said. “But I don’t know have to answer.” 

“But you don’t have to answer,” Matt agreed. “So, can I ask?” 

Techie took a deep breath. Then he bit his bottom lip and nodded. 

“How did they find you?” Matt asked. 

Techie drew in a little breath. “Ma Ma, the woman who had me, she made a mistake. She alerted local law enforcement on a planet Armitage was scanning. I don’t know how he figured out it was me… but the local Judges didn’t really get a chance at Ma Ma. Armitage pulled rank. It was… ugly.” He sounded very pleased at that. 

“Good,” Matt said. 

Techie nodded. “What next?” 

“Is your name really Techie?” 

“It is now,” Techie said. “It was a title… of sorts. But I got so used to it… I don’t know. I like it.” 

“Yeah,” Matt said. “I know about names.” 

“You were a Stormtrooper, right?” Techie asked. Matt looked up. Techie was looking away and blushing a bit. 

“Did the General tell you?” Matt asked. 

“And I saw it on your personnel file,” Techie admitted. “Sorry.” 

Matt felt his heartrate jump, and then he soothed it. His full file was not public. That was just the normal public file. It was humiliating, but not the worst. He could live with Techie knowing that much. 

“Yeah,” Matt said. He didn’t extrapolate. 

“What was that like?” Techie asked. 

“Hard. The way it was supposed to be,” Matt said tersely. He didn’t want to actually talk about this. “What was it like where you were?” 

Matt knew that wasn’t fair, but it shut Techie up. 

“I… don’t want to answer,” Techie said slowly. 

“What’s your name listed on your file?” Matt asked. 

“Technical,” Techie said. He smiled weakly. “Armitage changed it for me.” 

“That’s nice of him,” Matt said. There was still a bit of bite in his voice. He swallowed and tried again. He had to let that anger go. Techie wasn’t pressing his question. Also, snapping at Techie made him flinch. Matt didn’t want that.

“He’s trying to make up for not finding me before,” Techie said quietly. “But he didn’t know I was still alive. No one did. I never thought they’d find me.” 

“Never?” Matt asked, his bros furrowing. 

“Well… at first I did. I thought daddy… I mean father… I thought he’d find me. But I was a boy then. I didn’t know any better.” Techie’s voice trailed off to almost a whisper.

Matt reached out and laid his hand on Techie’s knew. “He’s not going to let anyone take you again.” 

“I know,” Techie said quietly. 

“I won’t either,” Matt said seriously. 

Techie’s lips twitched in something Matt thought maybe should have been a smile. But Techie didn’t smile. He wasn’t a man who smiled. Maybe he’d been a boy to smile. But the General wasn’t a man who smiled either. No matter what it wasn’t Techie’s fate to smile. That made Matt’s heart clench in sympathy. 

“Thank you,” Techie said just as quietly as before. 

“Do you like it here?” Matt asked, trying to be gentle about his questions again. 

“It’s… I like having my brother nearby. Family, you know?” Techie asked. 

“No, I don’t,” Matt said. He tried not to sound bitter. He failed. 

“Sorry,” Techie said. He lowered his gaze again. “It’s not bad here.” 

“Yeah,” Matt said. He looked away. He had a point for asking all of this, but he’d let it slip away from him and he was badly regretting it now. 

“Do you like it here?” Techie asked. He spoke in a quieter tone and when Matt looked at him, he sat Techie was looking at Matt. But he glanced away as soon as he saw Matt had seen him looking. 

“Not exactly,” Matt said. “It’s better than anywhere else. And I like the work f or the most part. I just hate everyone I work with.” 

“You don’t hate me,” Techie said. 

“Well, I don’t work with you, do I?” Matt asked. 

“Would you hate me if we worked together?” Techie asked. He didn’t sound nervous about it. Matt knew a verbal trap when he heard one, but oddly enough he wasn’t angry about this one. 

“No,” he said. “I’d like you anyway, but you’re a special case. Everyone else sucks.” 

“Even Kylo Ren?” Techie asked. He sounded smug. He looked smug too. Techie was teasing him. 

Matt laughed, surprised by Techie’s words. “No,” he said. “Not Kylo Ren. But everyone else.” 

“How about my brother?” Techie asked. 

Matt allowed himself to look thoughtful. Matt didn’t like General Hux. He just normally didn’t say so out loud because he didn’t want to be kicked off the ship. And if Techie told his brother, Matt would definitely get sent away. But Matt also considered that Techie wouldn’t do that to him. Still, Techie adored his brother, and Matt didn’t want to hurt Techie. 

“I respect that he does his job very well,” Matt said. 

“That’s a very politic answer,” Techie said. 

“We don’t really get along… sorry,” Matt said. 

“I know, what’s why we’re doing this,” Techie point out. “I’m not mad that you don’t like him.” 

“It’s different from the others,” Matt said quickly. “I can talk to them, but I don’t want to. When I have to talk to your brother, it’s a really, really bad thing.” 

“Yeah, about that,” Techie said, sitting up straighter. “You’re a radar technician, not an office. Why would you be having meetings with my brother at all? Shouldn’t he normally delegate that to someone else.” 

“For anyone else, yes,” Matt said. “But I would prefer to not talk about this.” He hoped being honest about this would keep Techie from pushing too hard. 

“Oh,” Techie said. “Are you like… undercover?” 

Matt snorted. “I wish,” he said quietly. “There’s just… There’s a reason why I look like Kylo Ren.” He tugged nervously on his hair. “But I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Okay,” Techie said. Matt examined his face. It didn’t seem like Techie knew what Matt was. Matt felt relieved. He didn’t like people know. It made things too complicated. If they didn’t trust him before, they really wouldn’t when they knew the truth. 

“Sorry for pushing,” Techie said quietly. He lowered his eyes again. 

“I know why you’re curious,” Matt said. “I’m not mad. And you know I get mad easily.” 

“You try not to hurt me,” Techie said quietly. “I should at least try.” 

Matt snorted out a laugh. Techie’s head shot up and he glared at Matt.

“Sorry,” Matt said, still laughing a little. “I’m just not used to someone attempting to not hurt me. I’m kinda big for people to worry about hurting me.” 

“Well, me too,” Techie pointed out. Matt couldn’t help but feel a touch stupid. Techie was thin, but he was almost as tall as Matt. In another life he would have been as intimidating as the General. But he just folded into himself so much that Matt thought of him as small.

“True,” Matt said quietly. 

“But you try to be nice,” Techie said. “And there’s no reason for it, not really.” 

Matt felt his face start to heat up. He wasn’t completely sure why he’d started being nice to Techie to begin with. After all, Techie was just a guy. But maybe Techie wasn’t the only one lonely and trying to get used to people again. 

Matt really, really was a bad candidate for this. 

Matt rubbed the back of his head. “We’ll work on it. Like we’ll work on everything else. And we’ll do more of this… meetings like this. If you can get used to being around me then you can get used to being around anyone.” 

“Okay,” Techie said. “I think you’re right. I mean, before you I couldn’t talk to anyone at all. I wasn’t sure this idea would work. But maybe it will.” 

“It will,” Matt said with much more confidence than he actually had. “For now we should work on a plan of attack.” 

“Attack?” 

“For meeting strangers,” Matt said. “Cause right now everyone is a stranger. But we’re going to get you ready to talk to people you don’t know.” 

“That… sure,” Techie said. He sounded about as sure as Matt felt. But he still nodded, and there was this fire in his eyes. Matt felt like that was who Techie was. He was terrified of the universe, and rightfully so. But he was a Hux, and a Hux always strove for more. If Matt could help him with that, that would be kind of awesome. 

“Okay, let’s get started,” Matt said, feeling much more determined than a go.

**Author's Note:**

> I started this shortly after reading [Misfits by Holycomb](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7931377). So this is part done. I meant it to be one chapter, but screw it! I've been working on this part forever!


End file.
